Enrollment Analysis: Black students comprised 12.3% of Manatee County's student body in 2023-24 school year

Manny Diaz, Jr. Commissioner of education at Florida Department of Education | https://www.flbog.edu/member/21325/

By Manatee Review

Feb 18, 2025

There were 6,279 Black students enrolled in Manatee County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 2% increase from the 6,154 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Manatee County welcomed a total of 51,127 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 12.3% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 76 schools in Manatee County, Palmetto High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 421 students, making up 19.2% of the school's total student body.

Gov. DeSantis has approved an education budget of over $28 billion for the 2024-25 school year. The new budget includes more than $1 billion earmarked exclusively for teacher salaries to better address the teacher shortage the state faces.

A 2024 WalletHub study ranked Florida 49th in the nation for teacher salaries when adjusted for cost of living, making it one of the lowest in the U.S.

Ethnicities in Manatee County in 2023-24 School Year

Enrollment in Manatee County Schools During 2023-24 School Year

School name	% of Black Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Lakewood Ranch High School	3.6%	2,368
Palmetto High School	19.2%	2,194
Parrish Community High School	7.4%	2,133
Manatee School for the Arts	9.4%	2,001
Manatee High School	14.9%	1,996
Braden River High School	8.1%	1,801
Southeast High School	19.3%	1,641
Bayshore High School	14.9%	1,464
Team Success A. School of Excellence	5.2%	1,310
B. D. Gullett Elementary School	3.8%	1,258
Barbara A. Harvey Elementary School	8%	1,252
Buffalo Creek Middle School	12.7%	1,122
W. D. Sugg Middle School	16.5%	1,009
Dr. Mona Jain Middle School	8.3%	927
William Monroe Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication	8.9%	918
Louise R. Johnson K-8 School of International Studies	18.6%	913
Martha B. King Middle School	15.1%	872
Braden River Middle School	14.9%	838
Virgil Mills Elementary School	8.5%	833
Annie Lucy Williams Elementary School	7.3%	831
Imagine Charter School at North Manatee	17.7%	773
Robert Willis Elementary School	2.1%	764
Gene Witt Elementary School	3.3%	754
Parrish Charter Academy	5.1%	745
R. Dan Nolan Middle School	3.1%	721
Robert H. Prine Elementary School	17.3%	716
Electa Lee Magnet Middle School	17.1%	712
Bayshore Elementary School	12.9%	708
Carlos E. Haile Middle School	9.2%	697
Blanche H. Daughtrey Elementary School	9.5%	693
William H. Bashaw Elementary School	19.9%	690
Rowlett Middle Academy	9.1%	662
Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School	3.8%	659
Freedom Elementary School	4.1%	611
Oneco Elementary School	24.5%	599
Manatee Charter School	19.5%	594
H. S. Moody Elementary School	16.2%	582
Samoset Elementary School	21.2%	576
James Tillman Elementary Magnet School	30.3%	575
Horizons Academy	28.2%	571
Palm View K-8 School	19.8%	571
Jessie P. Miller Elementary School	9.1%	569
Tara Elementary School	5.8%	568
Braden River Elementary School	4.8%	547
Palmetto Elementary School	14.9%	545
Marjorie G. Kinnan Elementary School	8.9%	527
Imagine Charter at Lakewood Ranch	7.1%	522
Sea Breeze Elementary School	17.9%	503
Manatee Elementary School	31.1%	489
State College of Florida Collegiate School	8.5%	485
Florine J. Abel Elementary School	15.5%	477
G. D. Rogers Garden Bullock Elementary School	36.6%	464
Lincoln Memorial Middle School	33.7%	463
Blackburn Elementary School	23.7%	456
Palmetto Charter School	6.9%	436
Ballard Elementary School	23.5%	417
Palma Sola Elementary School	6.6%	408
Juvenile Detention Center	46.3%	80
Visible Men Academy	27.1%	70
Pace Center for Girls	22%	50
Amikids Manatee	40%	40
Just for Girls Middle School	32.3%	31
Just for Girls Elementary School	36.7%	30